Focaccia with Summer Chicken
I love making focaccia - I think it is the easiest and safest bread for a beginner to start learning and also very satisfying to make. It can be spruced up with any given topping or made simply with olive oil, salt and herbs as an accompaniment to a meal.
Roast Chicken, I think, is most peoples’ favourite roast meal, probably because it is so versatile. It never used to be mine, but I am now rethinking it, as a roast chicken in the summer is one of the best. This one I served with fresh focaccia, still slightly warm from the oven, a very zingy anchovy aioli, asparagus and the lemony juices from the chicken pan. I covered the chicken in lemon zest, oregano, salt and pepper and olive oil, before cooking it for 75 minutes at 180C.
Focaccia Recipe
Ingredients:
- 500g strong white bread flour
- 10g salt
- 3g dry active yeast
- 375ml warm water
- 50ml olive oil
Method:
- Mix the flour and salt together, and in another bowl, mix the yeast and water until the yeast has dissolved. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until properly combined - you should have a fairly wet and sticky dough.
- Drizzle some of the olive oil into a bowl and then transfer the dough into this bowl and let it rest for an hour.
- For the next 3-5 hours, gently fold the dough twice but being careful not to knock the air out of it. Add more oil if necessary if the dough is sticking to the bowl.
- The dough should now have doubled in size and be quite bubbly.
- Transfer it to a prepared baking sheet and gently widen the dough to form a rectangle. Now use your fingertips and make dimples in the dough. Leave it to rest for 10-15 minutes before adding your toppings. I like to keep it simple and just use olive oil, salt and rosemary.
- Preheat the oven to 240C or as high as your oven will go, whilst you wait for your dough to rise for a further 20-30 minutes.
- Bake the focaccia for 15-20 minutes and if unsure, tap the bottom to check for the hollow sound. Leave it to rest on a wire rack before delving in!
